Alzheimer's Disease Research Paper

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Purpose of the Study

This study aimed to explored knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of AD among caregivers working with AD patients and their working experiences at the facilities. Particularly, this study focused on investigating how knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of AD among these caregivers are associated with their working experiences at the facilities. According to earlier studies, maintaining healthy social relationships enhance elderly memories; therefore, maintaining healthy social relationships aid in lowering the chances of suffering from the disease.

Research Questions

According the study purposes mentioned, this study established the following two research questions:

- What are levels of knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, of AD and levels of perceived experiences of AD caregivers?

- Is perceived experiences among AD caregivers associated with knowledge, perceptions, and altitudes of AD.

Hypothesis

The corresponding hypothesis for this study was generated to test the associations between knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of AD and perceived experiences of working with the AD patients among caregivers at long- term care facilities:H1: Caregivers working with AD patients will have high scores of knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes about AD.

H2: The caregivers’ high scores of knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes about AD will be correlated with their positive experiences of working with AD patients at long-term care facilities

Significance of the Study

Researchers have established a dramatic increase of AD among older people. Previous studies showed the multiple negative impacts of AD on a quality life among older people (Prince et. al., 2015). These elderly AD patients also face many psychological problems (Whitehouse et. al., 1982). Researchers have also shown that Alzheimer’s disease was growing at a high rate and expected to increase still more, in the near term. Based on these facts, this study was significant because it offered information for strategies for diagnosis, prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The government is spending billions of dollars each year on Alzheimer’s disease. The current expenditures stand at approximately $183 billion in the state of Georgia per year (Albert et al., 2011). Another significance of this study is that financial resources expended by government to deal with AD will diminish, which directly influence cares for AD patients and their family.

This study is also significant because it addressed the importance of knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of AD for improving a quality of care among caregivers and a quality of life among AD patients and their family.

To overcome all the problems associated with the Alzheimer disease, there was a need of continual research, throughout medical, allied medical, psychiatric-psychological, and sociological disciplines as well as social work, involving all of them in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to improving a quality of care for AD patients. This study aims at increasing the knowledge of AD in today’s society to aid in the continued search for better recommendations and knowledge in the disease. Understanding how the communities and patients deal with AD is important in developing health education content for the disease (Mastwyk et al., 2002).

There are many myths and doubts about AD. Thus, there is a need to conduct a study that removes many of the illogical myths and doubts, such as: having a relative with the disease does not necessarily mean one will develop the disease. People will gain the knowledge of the risks factors associated with Alzheimer’s such as diabetes, hypertension, drinking alcohol and cigarette smoking. By delineating known risk factors, this research helped people adjust their lifestyles and reduced or eliminated many known risk factors. The study also helped people learn about the symptoms associated with the disease and recognized significance of early detection and diagnosis, since there was currently no remedy. Finally, the study expanded the knowledge that people have about Alzheimer’s disease. With an increased base of knowledge, people will have new and meaningful ways to protect themselves against Alzheimer’s disease (Fowler, 2001).

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Summary

This study examined the relationship of knowledge and perceptions/attitudes of Alzheimer’s disease with perceived experiences of working with the AD patients among caregivers. Chapter two discussed the appropriate literature related to AD and Afrocentric Perspective as theoretical frameworks for the study. Chapter Three described the research methodology that provided answers to the specific aim and research question. Chapter four reported the result of the study. Chapter Five illustrated the study finding, limitation, suggestions for future study and clinical implication for Social Work.

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References

Allen, M. N., Dublin, S., & Kimmerly, P. J. (2012). A Look Inside Alzheimer's. Demos Medical Publishing.

Alzheimer's Association. (2013). 2013 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's & dementia, 9(2), 208-245.

Alzheimer’s, Association. (2015). 2015 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's & dementia: the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 11(3), 332.

Alzheimer's Association. (2016). 2016 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 12(4), 459-509.

Bertram, L., & Tanzi, R. E. (2011). Genetics of Alzheimer’s disease. Neurodegeneration: the molecular pathology of dementia and movement disorders, 51-91.

Bourgeois, M. S., Schulz, R., & Burgio, L. (1996). Interventions for caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease: A review and analysis of content, process, and outcomes. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 43(1), 35-92.

Citron, M. (2002). Alzheimer's disease: treatments in discovery and development. Nature neuroscience, 5, 1055-1057.